Solskjaer's legacy and his future

Stretford_End_17

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Ole legacy is about bringing the United DNA back to OT wich we completely lost during the LVG, Mourinho years.

I will always be grateful to our Ole.
 

criticalanalysis

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I think even the staunchest of Ole's fans would struggle to name another PL manager (in the entire history) that the opposition fans loved more than they loved and wanted Ole as Utd manager. The scary part was it wasn't a banter from a few rivals but rather every single opponents we faced wanted him to stay for as long as possible. That's how bad it was.
Yes.

Opposition teams knew we could beat them 4-0, 4-1, 4-2 etc on any given day due our individual talent but also knew they always had a chance at getting something off us because we were not well drilled as a team.

I hardly think I have a pathological obsession with Bruno. I'm just stating the obvious that without him we wouldn't of gotten consecutive top 4 finishes which stems from peoples arguments stating Ole has to be a good manager to achieve what he did in the league in terms of position. I disagree with the, "what Ole did' statements and I'm more in the, "what Bruno did" ones.

Of course how a player is utilised affects how a team plays but normally we talk about these sort of interactions in well drilled, organised sides. When a team was as disjointed as ours for as long as he's been here then you have to look beyond the managers nous and really get to the grass routes of what made us tick and if by not playing Bruno as CB was the cause then I'll happily give Ole credit.

Oles tactics (?) were as basic as they come. Sit back and hit teams on the break in the vast majority of his time with us. There was nothing to suggest he could get close to the style top teams play on a consistent basis let alone challenge them which became more apparent the longer he was with us. There's no shame in not being as good as Pep or Klopp because there's very few managers out there that are but the gulf between them was so vast it more than suggests that Ole was nowhere near tactically astute enough to be our manager regardless of what consecutive top 4 finishes means to people.
Good post. It's baffling how Ole is still getting so much credit for doing the bare minimum.
 

pawanraj

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Legacy means "what is passed on"... What has Ole, the manager passed on to us? A few good memories, a half-decent but unbalanced team.

This was the case before him too. We're not "set-up to dominate", we've spent a bunch of money with not much to show for it.

So there's no "legacy" here IMO. Unless you consider the divisive "Ole is good/bad" debates among the fan base as a legacy.

Ole as a player is one of those that I'll forever cherish, but Ole the manager - thanks for doing your best, but I ain't shedding tears over him leaving - and I don't believe many of us are.
 

U99ted

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I keep seeing people keep bring up Ole being the only manager to do “consecutive top 4 finishes”, because they don’t want to say “consecutive Champions League qualifications”. Mourinho did this in the post Sir Alex era. Furthermore, Mourinho won a trophy doing so, and was in the Europa because LVG put us there. Ole failed twice, after being the one to put us there, twice.

Ole’s legacy as a manager is one of abject failure and delusion. As a player, he’ll always be a legend.
 

Greck

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Ole legacy is about bringing the United DNA back to OT wich we completely lost during the LVG, Mourinho years.

I will always be grateful to our Ole.
Those guys brought more success than Ole could ever dream of. Unless said dna stopped including actually winning things. Give that exact stint to another manager that wasn't an ex-player and no one would ever think to say he brought back old United. He even played defensive counter attack for a sizable chunk of his tenure. No one would think to associate this type of football with our DNA if he wasn't a likeable face.

We also bottled every opportunity to win a trophy without fail. We're basically Spurs right now. United DNA never had timidity in its fabric. He then got to the top of the table and immediately declared we couldn't win the league. I can't even imagine what would have happened if we had a player like Keane in that dressing room.
 
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justsomebloke

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I actually love how extreme some people's thinking is.

Signings were flop, he's tactically shite, he's the worst PL manager (of all time?), but yet we finished 2nd and 3rd - consecutive top 4 finishes in PL for the 1st time since SAF. Surely, people need to realize that something doesn't add up
Very true.
 

justsomebloke

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I keep seeing people keep bring up Ole being the only manager to do “consecutive top 4 finishes”, because they don’t want to say “consecutive Champions League qualifications”. Mourinho did this in the post Sir Alex era. Furthermore, Mourinho won a trophy doing so, and was in the Europa because LVG put us there. Ole failed twice, after being the one to put us there, twice.

Ole’s legacy as a manager is one of abject failure and delusion. As a player, he’ll always be a legend.
Oh, come on. That's just over the top. How the feck is consecutive third and second place finishes, with a record-breaking winning streak, a record-breaking undefeated on the road streak and a 28-game unbeaten streak "abject failure". Also, re the Europa League: Mourinho won one, OGS were a couple of penalties in an 11-round penalty shootout away from winning one. Is that the difference between success and "abject failure"?

It came apart and he clearly wasn't able to overcome whatever it is that's eating us this season, but for most of his tenure we were a top team in the league. So let's keep some perspective here.
 

Greck

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Oh, come on. That's just over the top. How the feck is consecutive third and second place finishes, with a record-breaking winning streak, a record-breaking undefeated on the road streak and a 28-game unbeaten streak "abject failure". Also, re the Europa League: Mourinho won one, OGS were a couple of penalties in an 11-round penalty shootout away from winning one. Is that the difference between success and "abject failure"?

It came apart and he clearly wasn't able to overcome whatever it is that's eating us this season, but for most of his tenure we were a top team in the league. So let's keep some perspective here.
The fact you're having to use unbeaten streaks and finals losses to inflate his resume says it all. Let's take a count. Jose finished 2nd, actually won said trophy, lost an FA cup final and was considered a failure so how is Ole anything more than a failure as well? Are those unbeaten streaks really that valuable?
 

tenpoless

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I actually love how extreme some people's thinking is.

Signings were flop, he's tactically shite, he's the worst PL manager (of all time?), but yet we finished 2nd and 3rd - consecutive top 4 finishes in PL for the 1st time since SAF. Surely, people need to realize that something doesn't add up
And yet after we finished 2nd and 3rd - consecutive top 4 finishes in PL for the 1st time since SAF we played like shit and so disorganized. Something didn't add up.
 

Zen86

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This is just a holding thread until the resident crybabies can turn their teary-eyed attentions onto Rangnick.
 

Greck

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This is just a holding thread until the resident crybabies can turn their teary-eyed attentions onto Rangnick.
or till Ole gets a new gig so the fanatics that put his welfare ahead of the club's can follow him to his new club. God knows this place doesn't need any more sentimental fools.

Dont worry @justsomebloke this isn't referring to you, you're a good poster imo.
 

Bilbo

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The fact you're having to use unbeaten streaks and finals losses to inflate his resume says it all. Let's take a count. Jose finished 2nd, actually won said trophy, lost an FA cup final and was considered a failure so how is Ole anything more than a failure as well? Are those unbeaten streaks really that valuable?
Unbeaten streaks are only actually of any value if they lead to a trophy. I think everybody is in agreement with that. The reason that they are being mentioned by anyone is because they are a valid counter-argument to the OTT criticisms that are constantly levelled at Ole.

When people say that Ole's time as manager will ultimately be seen as unsuccessful, then that is a fair position to take. When people continue to go overboard with the 'abject failure' 'zero tactical acumen' 'worst PL manager' etc then this is where things such as the unbeaten runs are bought into the argument, because in a sensible world those 'achievements' should really be enough to put those types of accusations to bed.
 

tenpoless

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To me a failure is not defined by trophy or league position alone. Jose finished 2nd and I didnt like that shit on a stick football, same thing with Ole in his last 1-2 years. It should be defined as how close the manager is to getting the players to perform, which ultimately is about bringing the best out of them. When it happens, the success tends to follow anyway. Thats why Sir Alex was so succesful and respectable, he managed to bring the best out of what he had. Do you really believe this squad isnt capable of playing a decent football just because we have McTomminay in midfield? SAF used to have fecking Cleverley there and Ando that couldnt run for more than 60 mins and we were not disorganized.
 
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DSG

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This is just a holding thread until the resident crybabies can turn their teary-eyed attentions onto Rangnick.
:lol:

So true.

It’s fascinating that the fans are still so polarized about him. It’s a reflection of our society, I suppose. Can’t we just all agree that Ole was good at some things, bad at others, and ultimately not good enough? I suppose the only way to get noticed in this world is to have an insane, frothing at the mouth opinion, completely devoid of nuance.

Here, let me try it: OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER WAS THE BEST MANAGER IN THE HISTORY OF MAN UNITED!!!!… after SAF.
 

Zen86

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or till Ole gets a new gig so the fanatics that put his welfare ahead of the club's can follow him to his new club. God knows this place doesn't need any more sentimental fools.

Dont worry @justsomebloke this isn't referring to you, you're a good poster imo.
Which is absolutely no one on this forum.
 

anant

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And yet after we finished 2nd and 3rd - consecutive top 4 finishes in PL for the 1st time since SAF we played like shit and so disorganized. Something didn't add up.
Yeah, it just means that he wasn't able to take the final step. Doesn't mean he's tactically shite or worst PL manager.

Everything doesn't need to be at either end of the tail of a bell curve. Most things lie between the tails including how good Ole was as a manager. Not good enough to win the league, but not that bad as some people claim.
 

U99ted

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Oh, come on. That's just over the top. How the feck is consecutive third and second place finishes, with a record-breaking winning streak, a record-breaking undefeated on the road streak and a 28-game unbeaten streak "abject failure". Also, re the Europa League: Mourinho won one, OGS were a couple of penalties in an 11-round penalty shootout away from winning one. Is that the difference between success and "abject failure"?

It came apart and he clearly wasn't able to overcome whatever it is that's eating us this season, but for most of his tenure we were a top team in the league. So let's keep some perspective here.
“Abject” was probably over the top to be fair. Failure is still an appropriate term for Ole’s managerial legacy though in my opinion. “Consecutive third and second place finishes” don’t mean too much when you come apart so soon afterwards, like Mourinho who also consecutively qualified for the Champions League. The unbeaten (not winning) away streak had too many draws- this period dropped us out of contention with City last season. I take a dim view of last season’s European campaign not just because of the final, but because it came after failing to get out of our Champions League group. We also had 120 minutes to win it before it went to pens.

When Mourinho won it, he was in his first season, and started from the EL group stage. Mourinho’s first season would’ve been a huge failure had he not won it, League Cup or not. I found it quite funny and relieving that the final was the most comfortable of our knockout games, maybe apart from the round of 32.
 
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choccy77

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Solskjaers Legacy


Seeing Dan James everyday on my Man Utd calendar for December. :houllier:
 

Buster15

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To me, his legacy is not a good one.
Ir represents lots of failings, which with all the resources available at OT demonstrates his own limitations.
Lack of fitness.
Awful tactics.
Poor discipline.
Lack of an overall strategy.
Poor leadership.
Inept coaching.
In truth, he was never going to be able to complete with the elite coaches in the PL. Simply because he is not an elite coach.
His true test will come with his next job, where he will be working with bang average players and more limited resources. He is a bang average coach so will find his true level.
Of the 4 post Sir Alex Ferguson, he is easily the most limited in terms of real ability.
 

SirAF

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To me, his legacy is not a good one.
Ir represents lots of failings, which with all the resources available at OT demonstrates his own limitations.
Lack of fitness.
Awful tactics.
Poor discipline.
Lack of an overall strategy.
Poor leadership.
Inept coaching.
In truth, he was never going to be able to complete with the elite coaches in the PL. Simply because he is not an elite coach.
His true test will come with his next job, where he will be working with bang average players and more limited resources. He is a bang average coach so will find his true level.
Of the 4 post Sir Alex Ferguson, he is easily the most limited in terms of real ability.
Bang on.
 

AshRK

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I feel had he left after the europa final loss, many would have looked it differently. I don't think he was an outright failure but the guy was made to overstay as the manager. Should never have been given the extension.
 

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To me, his legacy is not a good one.
Ir represents lots of failings, which with all the resources available at OT demonstrates his own limitations.
Lack of fitness.
Awful tactics.
Poor discipline.
Lack of an overall strategy.
Poor leadership.
Inept coaching.
In truth, he was never going to be able to complete with the elite coaches in the PL. Simply because he is not an elite coach.
His true test will come with his next job, where he will be working with bang average players and more limited resources. He is a bang average coach so will find his true level.
Of the 4 post Sir Alex Ferguson, he is easily the most limited in terms of real ability.
Despite that, he had a more positive impact on the club than his predecessors.

He achieved what he was employed to do; stabilise the club up after Jose did everything in his power to systematically dismantle it. It's not his fault the board delayed his departure. Had he been dismissed after the Liverpool game, when most would agree was the right time to do it, we'd be singing his praises right about now.

His status as a United legend is still firmly intact.
 
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Greck

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Despite that, he had a more positive impact on the club than his predecessors.

He achieved what he was employed to do; stabilise the club up after Jose did everything in his power to systematically dismantle it. It's not his fault the board delayed his departure. Had he been dismissed after the Liverpool game, when most would agree was the right time to do it, we'd be singing his praises right about now.

His status as a United legend is still firmly intact.
I don't know how people find it in their hearts to lament Ole getting disrespected while disrespecting previous managers this badly. I wasn't even a Jose cultist but he left a squad that came 2nd to one of the most dominant title sides in pl history, made a cup final, actually won trophies and when he was finally sacked left us higher on the table than where Ole left us. Yet it's so casually stated that he was worse than Ole.

Ole's stabilisation project also ended when he became full time manager, second season max. He was here for 3 years because people told us he needed time to win. The most frequently cited comparisons to Klopp and Fergie were in regards to winning trophies not a 3 year stabilisation project that would end with nothing to show for. Nobody planned to go 3 years winning nothing if there was no light at the end of the tunnel.
 

stevoc

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I don't know how people find it in their hearts to lament Ole getting disrespected while disrespecting previous managers this badly. I wasn't even a Jose cultist but he left a squad that came 2nd to one of the most dominant title sides in pl history, made a cup final, actually won trophies and when he was finally sacked left us higher on the table than where Ole left us. Yet it's so casually stated that he was worse than Ole.

Ole's stabilisation project also ended when he became full time manager, second season max. He was here for 3 years because people told us he needed time to win. The most frequently cited comparisons to Klopp and Fergie were in regards to winning trophies not a 3 year stabilisation project that would end with nothing to show for. Nobody planned to go 3 years winning nothing if there was no light at the end of the tunnel.
:lol:

What relevance does this even have? So if he'd won one more game and had us in 6th like Jose he'd have done a much better job?

It's Xmas take a day off.
 

R'hllor

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Not sure are some people trolling in this thread or what, imagine thinking its some achievement being less toxic than that classless cnut.
 

Greck

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:lol:

What relevance does this even have? So if he'd won one more game and had us in 6th like Jose he'd have done a much better job?

It's Xmas take a day off.
I'd hazard to guess all the other things in that sentence is where the good job came from and that part was challenging the notion Jose left us in a worse place. Plus you're also on here posting on xmas so did your reading comprehension take a day off?
 

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I don't know how people find it in their hearts to lament Ole getting disrespected while disrespecting previous managers this badly. I wasn't even a Jose cultist but he left a squad that came 2nd to one of the most dominant title sides in pl history, made a cup final, actually won trophies and when he was finally sacked left us higher on the table than where Ole left us. Yet it's so casually stated that he was worse than Ole.

Ole's stabilisation project also ended when he became full time manager, second season max. He was here for 3 years because people told us he needed time to win. The most frequently cited comparisons to Klopp and Fergie were in regards to winning trophies not a 3 year stabilisation project that would end with nothing to show for. Nobody planned to go 3 years winning nothing if there was no light at the end of the tunnel.
Jose's last United Xi was: DDG, Dalot, Lindelof, Smalling, Darmian; Herrera, Matic; Rashford, Lingard, Young, Lukaku.

This is the strongest team we can put out today (IMO): DDG, Shaw, Varane, Maguire, AWB, Mctominay, Fred, Bruno, Sancho, Rashford, Ronaldo.

If I was a betting man, I'd place the entire contents of my bank account (about 4 quid at the minute) on the team Ole left behind to run proverbial rings around Jose's team. It wouldn't even be close if we're being strictly honest.

We won't even bother comparing Ole's side to LVG's because LVG is a decent guy and doesn't deserve the ridicule. He also introduced Rashford at a time and place where few managers would have the balls to do so, plus he brought Shaw to the club.

Ole is a rank amateur by comparison to LVG and Jose, yet he left the club with a better squad than both of those giants of the game. How did that happen?
 

Greck

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Jose's last United Xi was: DDG, Dalot, Lindelof, Smalling, Darmian; Herrera, Matic; Rashford, Lingard, Young, Lukaku.

This is the strongest team we can put out today (IMO): DDG, Shaw, Varane, Maguire, AWB, Mctominay, Fred, Bruno, Sancho, Rashford, Ronaldo.

If I was a betting man, I'd place the entire contents of my bank account (about 4 quid at the minute) on the team Ole left behind to run proverbial rings around Jose's team. It wouldn't even be close if we're being strictly honest.

We won't even bother comparing Ole's side to LVG's because LVG is a decent guy and doesn't deserve the ridicule. He also introduced Rashford at a time and place where few managers would have the balls to do so, plus he brought Shaw to the club.

Ole is a rank amateur by comparison to LVG and Jose, yet he left the club with a better squad than both of those giants of the game. How did that happen?
Oh come on. Comparing Jose's last 11 to Ole's strongest 11 to conveniently omit player's from Jose's strongest xi. You even used players that Jose brought under Ole's 11 and players that weren't even regulars under either manager. What exactly was the criteria and why not use the same one for both? The team that started in his final match are clearly not a reflection of the state of the squad he left.
 

R'hllor

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Jose's last United Xi was: DDG, Dalot, Lindelof, Smalling, Darmian; Herrera, Matic; Rashford, Lingard, Young, Lukaku.

This is the strongest team we can put out today (IMO): DDG, Shaw, Varane, Maguire, AWB, Mctominay, Fred, Bruno, Sancho, Rashford, Ronaldo.

If I was a betting man, I'd place the entire contents of my bank account (about 4 quid at the minute) on the team Ole left behind to run proverbial rings around Jose's team. It wouldn't even be close if we're being strictly honest.

We won't even bother comparing Ole's side to LVG's because LVG is a decent guy and doesn't deserve the ridicule. He also introduced Rashford at a time and place where few managers would have the balls to do so, plus he brought Shaw to the club.

Ole is a rank amateur by comparison to LVG and Jose, yet he left the club with a better squad than both of those giants of the game. How did that happen?
So last XI vs strongest XI iyo, thats what you comparing, i mean what :lol:. Also what you mean how, he spend money and added players to others, others that were either bought and developed/gave a chance by other managers. DDG - SAF, Shaw & Rashford - LvG, Fred, McT & how things look now Dalot > AWB - classless cnut JM.
 

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WW Lynchpin
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Oh come on. Comparing Jose's last 11 to Ole's strongest 11 to conveniently omit player's from Jose's strongest xi. You even used players that Jose brought under Ole's 11 and players that weren't even regulars under either manager. What exactly was the criteria and why not use the same one for both? The team that started in his final match are clearly not a reflection of the state of the squad he left.
I was going with the side Jose left the club with, not his overall best eleven. You could probably throw Pogba into that side, but it wouldn't make much difference as he was still here when Ole left and still underperforming. Probably worth pointing out that Pogba doesn't make our best eleven today.

Let's be honest, mate, it doesn't take a football analyst to recognize the side Ole left behind is infinitely better than the one left behind by Jose. There's no shame in admitting it despite how you feel about either of them.
 

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WW Lynchpin
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So last XI vs strongest XI iyo, thats what you comparing, i mean what :lol:. Also what you mean how, he spend money and added players to others, others that were either bought and developed/gave a chance by other managers. DDG - SAF, Shaw & Rashford - LvG, Fred, McT & how things look now Dalot > AWB - classless cnut JM.
I don't mean to cause offence, but I'm not sure what you're attempting to say mate.
 

R'hllor

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I don't mean to cause offence, but I'm not sure what you're attempting to say mate.
Good one. First comparing last eleven of toxic one with strongest XI in your opinion to reinforce your stance, which is laughable and then asking how did Ole leave a stronger squad. Simple, he spent money on players and added them to 5-6 players before him.

Dunno what kind of argument is that.
 

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Good one. First comparing last eleven of toxic one with strongest XI in your opinion to reinforce your stance, which is laughable and then asking how did Ole leave a stronger squad. Simple, he spent money on players and added them to 5-6 players before him.

Dunno what kind of argument is that.
Okay, I see, apologies dude.

From the squad Ole inherited from Jose, only DDG, Shaw, Mctominay, Fred and Rashford make the starting eleven today (IMO). Of those 5, DDG, Shaw and Rashford were brought/promoted by LVG so Jose takes no credit for them. Mctominay and Fred are all Jose, though. It's probably fair to say that the majority of United fans wouldn't be too displeased if either of those players left the club.

It's entirely possible that come the close of this summers transfer window, nothing of Jose will remain at the club. Almost as if he never existed as a United manager.
 

R'hllor

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Okay, I see, apologies dude.

From the squad Ole inherited from Jose, only DDG, Shaw, Mctominay, Fred and Rashford make the starting eleven today (IMO). Of those 5, DDG, Shaw and Rashford were brought/promoted by LVG so Jose takes no credit for them. Mctominay and Fred are all Jose, though. It's probably fair to say that the majority of United fans wouldn't be too displeased if either of those players left the club.

It's entirely possible that come the close of this summers transfer window, nothing of Jose will remain at the club. Almost as if he never existed as a United manager.
Well doubt McT and Fred will be sold, probably moved on the bench, if we shop proper for midfielders, so yes, that would be zero players from era of toxic one. Also how things are looking, Dalot will get a nod over AWB under RR, God knows who will be starting RB under new manager, others from Ole side, depends who you ask, is brick head good buy or not, Varane and Sancho early to say, Bruno good and Ronaldo certainly aint negative.